Highs in the (Mostly) Mid-80s, NYC – Volume 1

Host: Blair B.

This volume includes 13 different bands, although there were plenty more. Unfortunately, some of those bands didn’t leave any known recordings behind. Few of those that did have made it to CD, so please bare with the pops and crackles.

Fuzzfest Promo Spot – WNYU
I didn’t actually mention this one in the podcast because I wasn’t able to find it. Meanwhile, I’d sent out a couple emails to people I thought might have it. Mosquitos’ guitarist Steve Prisco came through. Anyway, this was a promo spot on WNYU for a “Portnoy Production” at 240 West – a club across from the Roseland Ballroom on West 52nd that later became the site of the Lone Star Roadhouse and, in the late ’90s, a new Max’s Kansas City. The show featured The Fuzztones, The Vipers, The Mosquitos, The Tryfles, The Cheepskates, and The Outta Place. The Mosquitos “headlined” because they played another show earlier that evening on Long Island, then packed their gear and hauled ass into Manhattan for this. Rumor has it that the entire event was filmed.

The Mosquitos – “Darn Well” – 3-song demo
Although The Mosquitos were based in Huntington and Northport, about an hour east of NYC on Long Island’s North Shore, they were an integral part of the NYC garage scene. Indeed, they exposed many Long Island teens to the NYC scene simply because we wanted to see them as much as possible. Despite being an atypical Mosquitos’ song – as they were more ’60s pop-oriented – “Darn Well” was so good that it was chosen to be the first track on the ROIR Garage Sale cassette comp in 1985. Lead singer Vance Brescia currently plays in Peter Noone’s band. Steve Prisco, organist Tony Millions, and bassist Iain Morrison briefly formed “The New Mosquitos”, but decided they couldn’t start it all over again and canceled the one gig they’d set up. Prisco soon joined The Scofflaws, then helped found The Bluebeats. He took some time off, but is now playing with ex-Tonebenders/Gripweeds’ bassist Mick Hargreaves in The Blaggards. I can’t speak for Iain, but Millions had a band a few years back called The Fabulous Custodians. The band went through a few different drummers. The original drummer – Pat Bishow – has directed some great low budget films, such as The Girls From H.A.R.M. and The Adventures of El Frenetico & Go-Go Girl. More about The Mosquitos when I do a Long Island episode.

The Fuzztones – “Bad News Travels Fast” – 45 (Zulu)
This one was co-written by Fuzztones frontman Rudi Protrudi with Michael Chandler of The Outta Place and The Raunch Hands. When it came out, Trash Beat ‘zine said it ought to replace “Born To Be Wild” as the Hell’s Angels’ theme song. The Fuzztones’ existed in NYC until sometime in ‘86, at which point Rudi both started Link Protrudi & the Jaymen and then took off for California to put together another version of the ‘Tones. For a long time, the band was gone, but by the late ’90s, the LA bunch were reconvened. Around ‘98 or so, a New York version of the group reunited for a Cavestomp performance. The Fuzztones still exist to this day, touring and recording, although of course the only constant in the lineup is Rudi. The NYC lineup (which itself was an outgrowth of Rudi & Deb’s group, Tina Peel), however, remains the favorite of many fans. Deb O’Nair performed with Wendy Wild in Das Furlines. She took some time off, but appeared with The Fuzztones again at that Cavestomp show, then again for some tours a few years back. Ira Elliott went on to Nada Surf. Elan Portnoy did some writing with Bobby Belfiore of The Optic Nerve, but his main project was The Headless Horsemen. He also played with his brother Orin in The Lone Wolves for a bit. Later, he recorded some tracks with The Roamin’ Numerals.

The Outta Place – “Dirty Old Man” – We’re Outta Place (Midnight)
Their debut mini-LP proclaimed them “New York’s Own Cave Teens”. One review said it was “underproduced to perfection.” Their version of “Louie Louie” rivals that of The Swamp Rats. Andrea went on to form The Freaks with John Fay of The Tryfles. Orin Portnoy went on to The Optic Nerve before doing “Out Orin” and The Lone Wolves. Jordan Tarlow played in a California version of The Fuzztones. Michael Chandler you all know about from his time with The Raunch Hands. These days, although he – like Orin – lives in Arizona, when Michael’s in NYC, he gets together with Chandler & the Chasers.

The Tryfles – “Had Enough Of Your Lies” – 7″ (Midnight)
The Tryfles included two guys – Peter Stuart (bass) and John Fay (guitar) – and two gals – Ellen O’Neil (drums) and Lesya Karpilov (guitar) – and they put on some damn good shows. Sure, most of us teens were in love with BOTH Ellen and Lesya, but the music was what made it work. The records didn’t manage to capture their live sound, but at least they weren’t completely emasculated the way The Mosquitos were on their EP. Sadly, Ellen was gone before the full-length LP was recorded. Ellen also played with the all-girl combo, The Maneaters. Peter would go on to form The Headless Horsemen and The Bitter Hearts. He currently plays the occasional gig as Shaw ‘Nuff and has guested with The Standells and members of The Beau Brummels, among others. John Fay formed The Freaks. Lesya no longer played. Last I heard, John was in Hawaii. (He occasionally posts to the GaragePunk.com Forums.) Last time I talked to Lesya, she was going to Finland for work quite often… But that was something like 15 years ago. Sadly, Ellen died a few years back.

The Soul Assassins – “Scream” – 7″ (self-released)
These guys were the High Times’ house band. Eventually, they added a trio of female singers known as The Assassinettes. These days, singer Flick Ford and guitarist Brian Spaeth – who some may remember from an appearance on The Fleshtones’ Roman Gods LP – are back to another old project, The Crazy Pages.

The Stepford Husbands – “I’m Rode Out” – 7″ (Cryptovision)
It’s hard to say where these guys were really based, considering one was from England, another California, and another the NY/NJ area. Still, as this page points out, Gary Thomas and Dave Amels met each other at the Peppermint Lounge, so we’ll call them a NY band. They did a number of singles, as well as an album, but the geographical differences made things difficult. Still, in the late ’90s, the group managed another single and a couple more shows. Dave Amels has recorded with a number of different people over the years, but is probably proudest of his work on the Voce keyboard modules. You can hear Dave playing one of his modules on the first Swingin’ Neckbreakers’ LP.

The Headless Horsemen – “Can’t Help But Shake” – Can’t Help But Shake (Resonance)
The Headless Horsemen arose out of the ashes of The Tryfles and The Fuzztones. Originally, the final Tryfles’ drummer, Celia Farber, hit the kit, but Dave Ari soon replaced her. Also on board was Chris Cush (who some know from Mojo Guitars and had been in a punk band called The Amps in the early ’80s). For awhile there, the Horsemen were one of the best bands around. They did some great recordings, too. I’ve covered Elan and Peter already, but it should be mentioned that Chris also played in The Bitter Hearts. Dave ended up in The Devil Dogs for awhile. The Horsemen reunited a number of times over the years, although that may not happen again for awhile.

The Cheepskates – “Run Better Run” – Run Better Run (Midnight)
Another bit of proof that the NYC ’80s garage scene was not all about primitive cavestomps (although those sure were – are! – fun). The Cheepskates were heavily into pop song-craft. This particular track is driven by Shane’s Farfisa and has always been one of my favorites. Personally, I prefer this LP to the next one, Second & Last, but that one, too, has some good tracks on it. After that, however, half the band split. The remaining two added a new drummer and did a number of records in the pop vein. The original Cheepskates’ lineup, however, has reunited in NYC a few times over the past 5-10 years. Shane has also done some solo records and runs a label called To M’Lou Music. Find out more here. Tony Low has also recorded some fine pop in the past 6-7 years. (Click here for more info.) Dave Herrera put out an LP called Handout From A Cheepskate around ‘89 or so, but hasn’t done much recording – to my knowledge – since that time. He has, however, occasionally pinch-hit on bass for The Optic Nerve. (Go here for info on his current projects.) Van Keith I’m not sure about.

Chris Such & His Savages – “Leave My Kitten Alone” – EP (Chaos)
This is the Headless Horsemen doing covers under an assumed name. It was NOT just a recording project. The band did many shows and the record came after that. Although not on this EP, it should be noted that bassist Tom Ward (Gravedigger 5, Black Diamonds, Nashville Ramblers and so many more) was also involved with Chris Such & the Savages for awhile.

The Mad Violets – “Psilocybe” – Season of the Mad Violets (Tripwave)
Based around the vocal/writing talents of Wendy Wild and the hallucinatory guitar of Dino Sorbello, The Mad Violets were the most psychedelic of any band on the NYC garage scene of the time. “Psilocybe” came to the attention of most outside NYC via its inclusion on Battle of the Garages Volume 2 (Voxx). Another Mad Violets’ track, “Acceleration” was found on the Train To Disaster comp (Bona Fide). Even so, the disc this is taken from was released long after the band was gone, and even then it was done by Sorbello himself. After the Mad Violets, Dino would go on to play with The Lords of the New Surf, The Blacklight Chameleons, Laughing Sky, and – currently – Tripwave. The latter group is doing this song in their set these days. Wendy Wild went on to Peter Zaremba’s Love Delegation, Das Furlines, and many others. My greatest memory of Wendy was a conversation one night where we got to talking about where we were originally from. It turned out Wendy and I had gone to the same high school, although she had about 9 years on me. Although Wendy died of breast cancer in 1996 at age 40, she lived a fuller life than most people can ever dream. Read about some of her adventures here.

The Optic Nerve – “Ain’t That A Man” – 3-song 7″ (Cryptovision)
Bobby Belfiore (guitar/vocals) moved up from DC – where he’d fronted The Purple Onion – and soon put together The Optic Nerve with Tony Matura (then of The Longhorns) and Orin Portnoy. On this single, they also included a member of The Ravens (and The Fad), Frank Manlin. In DC, Bobby had been about the Stones’ side of things. With The Optic Nerve, it was all about the jangle. The band disintegrated in the late 80s, but every couple years they’d do a show with one lineup or another. The past couple years, however, they’ve been playing on a semi-regular basis and even have a new record in the can. The band right now includes Bobby & Tony, as always, plus drummer Mike Linn and, back on bass, Tom Ward.

The Twisted – “Sheez Wicked”- 7″ (Midnight)
This was a, um, twisted recording project by brothers Orin and Elan Portnoy.

The Vipers – “We’re Outta Here” – Outta The Nest (PVC)
This bunch was one of the leading lights of the ’80s scene. Along with The Fuzztones, they got the biggest gigs in NYC. The Vipers, however, had the advantage of hosting the Thursday night Cavestomps at The Dive. When The Vipers were on, nobody could touch them. Sadly, the death of their manager, Bob Chich, seemed to cause them to lose direction for awhile and the second album – which members said was almost done only about a year after the first one – took another couple years. By that time, the only original members were singer Jon Weiss and guitarist/organist Dave Mann. The replacements didn’t seem to really have the same feel for the music and by the end of the ’80s, The Vipers were completely gone. Weiss and Mann formed a new group – sort of a heavy pop thing – called Mary Jane. For a short time, ex-Fuzztone Ira Elliott beat the skins and ex-Mosquito Vance Brescia held down the bass. Graham May played with a power pop band called Chewy, then did time in Sylvain Sylvain & the Ugly Americans. The band reunited at a Cavestomp fest (put on annually by Weiss in the late ’90s and early ’00s) in the late ’90s and fans, predictably, went nuts.

There will likely be another volume of NYC, mostly made up of tracks by the same bands, although a few others will be heard from, as well.